Mercy and Magic
by Lennox13
Summary: When Klarion's plan to break the Justice League fails spectacularly, a momentary rift between the present and the distant past opens. In Camelot, war stands at the gates and the new variables that simply happened to appear in their moment of need are suspicious at best. How will the unlucky teenagers survive in a time of kings and castles? And will they ever find their way home?
1. Chapter 1

The world was constantly changing and shifting and evolving. As is said, the only thing that is constant is change. Yet, however random this change may be, there must always remain balance. And though the natural state of things always leaned to the side of chaos, there must remain balance. And that was Fate's purpose – to restore order in the face of insurmountable odds.

Klarion's purpose was far simpler. He merely was and he fulfilled it. _Chaos._

He grinned maliciously and stroked the orange tabby cat pressed against his side. Personally, he thought of chaos as fun. Order was so predictable, so boring. But he knew that his own ideologies were far beyond human comprehension. They, the small-minded, framed him as 'evil'. His mouth twisted to the side at the suggestion. Was the wind evil? Was the ocean evil?

"Ugh, so narrowminded," Klarion announced his displeasure, his voice saturating the pocket of space he'd carved out for himself. And the worst of the worst were those Justice Leaguers, who thought they had some kind of right to stop the natural order of things. Entropy! It was supposed to be!

Teekl squirmed as Klarion's grip became too tight. Though he loosened his grip, he did not apologise. No, his thoughts were poised on other, more important matters.

For the past few days, he had been plotting against the Justice League. After the stunt where the world was split into two separate realities, an idea had been brewing in the crevices of his mind. The panic and disorder and disharmony caused by such a massive event had been marvellous. Absolutely stupendous! It had been so fun to see the Justice League teetering on the very edges of insanity. And they were all still so deliciously, wibbly-wobbly!

To set them off, all Klarion really needed was a teeny tiny little thing. And sometimes the smaller the stone, the larger the ripple in the end in any case. Oh, and did he have the perfect little stone!

At first, he had wanted that stupid science-spouting speedster to poof! He hated Kid Flash with a thriving passion and granted, the ramifications of his death would cause chaos indeed. But Klarion had decided to go for maximum effect. He didn't just want to bring the League to their knees. Nope! He wanted them to come after him and every villain they suspected with an untameable, unimaginable fury. He wanted the League thirsting for vengeance. And killing Kid Flash might not have quite that effect.

No, humans had this thing about children. Thus, the younger they were, the greater the impact.

Yes, a baby bird was going to unravel the world. Klarion's toes curled in anticipation.

Teekl, sensing the Witch Boy's excitement, meowed her impatience.

"Yes, yes, dear," Klarion immediately placated. "Very soon. I'm just waiting for everyone to get cosy again. The greatest chaos follows times of order, after all." After a pause, he gave a little cackle and twirled around on his left leg to face the glowing sphere suspended in nothingness. With his sight, enhanced by magic, he could see every minute activity happening on Earth right at that moment.

He could watch the ever-glorious Gotham where a dumb Bat tried to maintain some semblance of peace or he could look at Bialya, where the seeds of sown discord bloomed. Tempting… but, no.

Klarion had his gaze firmly trained on a small seaside town called Happy Harbour, where a team of justice babies were oh so carefully tumbling into a trap. After all, the greatest chaos hails from the agents of order and truly, there had never been a greater mortal than the Batman, protector of Gotham. What would he do without his anchor, though? The colourful little Robin held the Batman's strings and if Klarion was to, say, snip-snip, those strings….

"Teekl? I think this is going to be soooo much fun!"

* * *

"I'm going to the cave!" Dick announced joyously and rushed past Alfred who was measuring flour from an industrial-sized sack.

Alfred didn't bother to look up from his work, a large array of cups and bowls meticulously arranged before him. "I presume by 'cave' you do not mean the one downstairs, young master Richard?"

"Nah," Dick replied, neck-deep in the fridge. "Alfred, do we have any of yesterday's chicken left?" He pulled his face out of the fridge, a frown plastered across his forehead. Without a pause, he closed the door and moved to the cupboards on the other side of the large island in the middle of the kitchen. "And what about the cookies from the weekend?"

Alfred sighed internally. The speed at which Bruce's young ward lived sometimes astounded him. He couldn't remember a time when he had ever been so rushed to do anything. "I suppose you want to feed that cavernous friend of yours." Alfred sifted the last bit of flour into the mix before moving with stately grace to the large tin resting beside the coffeemaker. "I took the liberty of making sandwiches. You will also find an assortment of sweet things that should keep the young master Wallace satisfied for a few moments."

With a grin that lit up the entire kitchen, Dick bounded over to the older man and held out his arms. The tin of food was enough to feed a small troop of Spartans. Or one speedster and friends. "Thanks, Alfred. You're the best!" He turned around to head to the zeta-beam downstairs but didn't get very far. Alfred's hand rested lightly, yet firmly, on one shoulder.

"Young master Richard… perhaps it would be best to wait until later." The butler didn't have to explain his reasons. The Wayne Manor had been tense enough that he did not have to explain his hesitance.

Dick's stomach twisted with mixed emotions. Frustration was prime among them. Admittedly, the past few months had been increasingly erratic, with dangerous villains becoming more and more commonplace. Dick didn't know when he last had a good night's sleep. Bruce had become even more protective. With the potential mole, the stupid failsafe experiment and then the split worlds incident… he could see why his adoptive father no longer wanted him out of his sight for too long.

Dick gently placed the tin on a nearby counter before turning around to give Alfred a hug. Although he knew hugs made the Englishman somewhat uncomfortable, he also knew that they all needed a bit of reassurance. "Alfred… I know. But it has been two weeks since… that. Everyone's going to be there, and I promise I won't stay long or do anything too adventurous. We're just going to Connor's football practice and straight back."

"If you insist." Alfred knew how considerate and patient Dick had been over the past few weeks, coming home straight after school, not going out or insisting on tagging along on patrols. "Be safe."

"Always!"

Famous last words.

* * *

**Okay, so I'm trying something new. Please leave some comments or suggestions, or tell me if you're interested. A warning though: contrary to what this chapter suggests, I am a massive Kid Flash fan, so he will certainly be one of the main characters. But of course, the entire team will feature. The old team, not this new disappointment that's currently airing. I nearly cried with this last episode, though. For a wonderful second, I thought Wally was actually back and it felt like the good old days again. On that note, what does everyone think of S3 of YJ?**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Please leave tips and critiques.

* * *

"Great job, Kent!" The Happy Harbour High football coach shouted, sounding duly impressed with the new star athlete that seemed to have fallen into his lap. The coach had high hopes for the kid, who had taken to the sport like a duckling to water, even though Kent claimed to have never played before. "Alright, that's it for today. Everybody, grab your gear and hit the showers!"

The team answered with varying levels of enthusiasm and headed off in the direction of the locker rooms. Except for Kent, who headed over to a small mismatched cluster of kids who had been cheering unprecedently loud every time Kent so much as moved or touched the football.

Coach shook his head and dipped his cap low to hide a smile. How he missed that youthful enthusiasm. These days, about all that got him that excited, was cafeteria leftovers and his tax refund. Chuckling to himself, he headed off to his office.

* * *

"You were amazing, Connor!" M'gann jumped up and down at Connor's approach, a face-splitting grin on her face.

His gaze softened when it landed on her and he offered her a smile. "Thanks."

"Yup! And he must be starving, right?" Wally added, eyeing the container at Robin's feet. Although he couldn't see his best friend's eyes behind the dark sunglasses, he could feel the weight of Dick's amused glare.

"Fine, Wally. We'll eat, but everyone else gets to pick first, okay?" Dick acquiesced.

Wally nodded eagerly, only slightly faster than strictly normal. Once everyone had a sandwich or cake in hand, he eagerly dug into Alfred's homemade goodies. A companionable atmosphere settled over the group as they sat and enjoyed a fantastic meal in the weak November sunlight. Until Wally decided to burst the bubble.

"Does anyone else feel like we're being babied? Like we're constantly being watched?" He asked between bites of a chicken mayo sandwich.

A distinctly uncomfortable silence followed.

M'gann hesitantly spoke up after a few more beats. "Uh, I mean, it's kind of understandable, isn't it? They did lose us for a bit."

"M'gann is right, Wally. They're obviously going to be a bit more protective after the past couple of months." Kaldur agreed.

Dick punctuated their arguments with, "We've nearly died how many times now?"

Wally made a noncommittal sound in the back of his throat. "Yeah, but… isn't this part of being heroes? We risk everything so that others, who can't do the things that we can, don't have to."

"Wow, astute much, Kid Mouth?" Artemis shot back, but without her usual bite. For a change, KF actually had a point. "Even though it is true, I don't think any of us really think about the fact that our lives are at stake. And they have been forced to face that reality quite a bit lately. It's bound to chafe."

"We were meant to be a covert team, after all," Kaldur added, his voice calm as ever even as his brow furrowed at the thought. Death was not a light subject and although one supposedly had a constant awareness of the possibility, especially when one worked in the superhero business, it was not often that he, himself, contemplated the matter.

Another silence reigned, although not uncomfortable. Just heavy. Heavy like responsibility. Heavy like holding the lives of more than just your own in your hands.

Wally rubbed at the back of his neck, chewing and swallowing the last bit of a cupcake. "Sorry, guys. I didn't mean to be a downer. I've just noticed that Flash no longer lets me hang out with my friends after school. And my mom texts me every single hour." His phone buzzed, punctuating his last statement.

"Friends? Like Hartley?" Robin gave Wally a sceptical look.

Kid Flash sniffed indignantly and refused to make eye contact. "It's never been a problem before."

Robin just shook his head, whilst the rest of the team looked on quizzically, clearly missing something.

However, before Robin could explain their misguided friend's colourful taste in friends, a massive explosion from the direction of the town centre lit up the sky.

"What was that?" Artemis exclaimed, already reaching for her backpack where she kept her retractable bow.

The rest of the team showed similar reactions, with KF already gone for reconnaissance.

Robin swore under his breath, distinctly recalling his earlier promise. "Alfred's gonna kill me," he muttered even as he checked his own bag for all of his equipment.

A soft hum was the team's only warning, before the Bioship, in camouflage mode, enveloped them. M'gann changed instantly, whilst the rest of the team hurriedly checked gear and suits. The Bioship zoomed in the direction of the explosion and soon, smoke and ash obscured their view. A soft buzz and tingle at the tip of their spines was all the warning the team received before Miss Martian pulled them into their telepathic mind link.

"Does anyone have eyes on Wally?" M'gann thought to the team. Although KF's thoughts were much faster than the average human or Martian, she had gotten so used to his mind that she was usually able to quickly pick him out of a crowd. But because he was running and, if she knew the speedster at all, evacuating civilians, his thoughts were in overdrive and she was unable to distinguish him from the general cacophony of panic echoing from the streets below. A visual would help focus her mind on his.

"No, I can't see him," Artemis replied, quickly followed by affirmations from the rest of the team.

"Do not worry for now. Kid will find us." Kaldur, ever the voice of reason, was checking the local news for any information regarding the source or reason for the explosion. "Miss Martian, set us down on the green in front of the court building. The explosion came from there, although knowledge of what and why are still-"

Kaldur was cut off by another explosion.

M'gann gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. "Oh no, the library!"

"Get us on the ground. Now!" Kaldur's calm and commanding voice sounded in their minds, steeling their resolves and shaking M'gann out of her moment of panic.

As soon as the Bioship touched the ground, a doorway materialised, and the team piled out.

"Our first priorities are civilians. Evacuate anyone you can find, triage as you go and make sure the injured receive the necessary help." With a nod, Kaldur dismissed his team.

Superboy and M'gann immediately headed towards the court building, where people were running, limping and crawling out of doors, windows and holes where walls used to be. Robin was about to head to the library, following Artemis, when Kaldur called him back.

"No, Robin. We can only assume more explosions are imminent. Focus your energy on finding the source and establishing whether or not there are more explosive devices. I shall cover the library." Without waiting for a response, Kaldur ran towards the library, which was opposite the courthouse, across from the town square. Sprinting through the central fountain, Kaldur gathered as much water as he could carry and rushed towards the flames.

It seemed that the explosion at the courthouse had caused most people to exit the surrounding buildings and shops to investigate, meaning that the library was likely mostly empty. Or so Robin hoped.

Furiously searching through databases and recent news reports, as well as sending out a miniature drone which usually sat embedded in his utility belt, Robin was trying his best to determine whether another explosion was due. The news was no help and the cases being considered that day were mostly family court and minor misconducts. But a thermal scan of the area showed-

A rush of air nearly blew Robin off his feet. He looked up, unbidden, to find a soot-covered Kid Flash panting in front of him. Although largely flame-resistant, holes and tears speckled KF's uniform and he was missing a glove. The green of his eyes was brighter than normal, due to both the sting of the smoke making his eyes water and the panic glittering in their depths.

"Rob, it's bad. It's so, so bad." Wally's words were all mumbled and garbled together, his throat tight from smoke inhalation. Normally, he could have just held his breath and run through the fire and smoke, but in order to get the civilians out, he had to linger. "Please tell me there aren't anymore?" KF pleaded, his voice cracking midway through.

"I…" Robin looked down at the scan from his little drone. The area looked clear, but then again, you couldn't really tell with hidden bombs.

A girl, perhaps in her early twenties, suddenly ran up to them. Her eyes were wide and her face pale, making the scattering of freckles stand out starkly. _Sun-kisse_s, Dick thought. That's what his mom used to call them. He shook his head, surprised by his own line of thought. Where had that come from?

The girl's clothes were full of ash and first-degree burns lined her left leg. Wally moved to pick her up, but she swatted his hand away. "I'm fine," she panted, wincing at the croaking sound of her voice. "I saw a man…" She coughed, a raw, hacking sound that appeared to shred her throat even more. But she tried again, gasping for air between each utterance. "A man with a cat… he had three bags… the church."

"Klarion." Robin and Kid Flash said in unison.

Robin gave the girl a small asthma pump from his belt. It contained a cooling substance specifically for relief against smoke inhalation. "Here. This will help for now, but you need to get to an ambulance. Thank you for your help."

She was still coughing but had the little pump in a death grip.

"KF, get us to the church." The urgency in Robin's voice was undeniable and without stopping to think twice, KF picked up his friend and rushed to the church.

"Oh no." KF echoed Robin's thoughts as they arrived at their goal. Droves of people stood around and inside of the courtyard, with even more people inside of the small cathedral. "Now is really not the time for people to find religion," he groaned, putting Robin down on the ground.

It was subtle, but Robin noticed the hints of fatigue in the taut lines around KF's eyes and the slight tremor in his hands. The running around and having to heal both internal and external injuries were taking its toll. KF was expending energy at a much faster than normal rate.

Decision made; Robin nodded to himself. "KF, eat something. Then, get me inside and everyone else out." The speedster was staring at the church in a way that made Robin unsure if he had heard.

"KF?" Robin gripped his shoulder, hard. "Now."

Before Robin could blink, he was inside, staring up a small stage and a statue of Mother Mary. "Everybody, get out, now!" He heard KF's voice behind him just before people seemingly started disappearing from the inside of the church.

Ignoring the panicked mob that was pouring out every available orifice, Robin leapt on the stage and started checking all of the obvious places. He deployed the little drone again and sent it to inspect the pews on the top level of the church. "Robin, check behind the first row!" He heard KF call from somewhere but didn't see him before the speedster disappeared into a yellow coloured streak once more.

Rushing down the stage again, Robin headed to the first pew where he immediately spotted a large black duffle bag looking very obvious, and very suspicious.

Before he could get any nearer, KF paused next to him, ripping through one of his special energy bars. "Is that it?" He asked.

Robin nodded. "KF," he said softly. "This is a trap."

Kid Flash didn't pause in his chewing but made a sound of agreement, before swallowing loudly. "I thought so." Between one blink and the next, Robin had gone back two steps and the bag was open, showing a small screen with a red counter flashing intimidatingly. "It's too obvious, but it is definitely another bomb of some kind. Nothing I'm familiar with."

If Artemis had been there, she might have accused him of being flippant. But Robin knew that his friend regularly faced villains with a strange penchant for unusual bombs. The Rogues were a creative bunch. As they watched, trying to spot any superficial clues or traps, thirty seconds counted down and the church became eerily quiet. Three minutes remained. "Well, this isn't helping," Wally announced, and determinedly approached the bag. He opened it up more, revealing a violet crystal and copious amounts of grey blocks. He frowned and tapped the crystal lightly. Immediately, it started to hum and pulse wildly, vibrating at a frequency that set both heroes teeth on edge. The red digits hitched, jumping to a minute.

"Dude, what did you do?" Robin scolded, horror making him feel numb. He moved forward and crouched down to inspect the wires. He frowned, viewing the device as if through a haze of fog. "The wires…" he mused.

KF nodded next to him. "Yeah, I know. They look decorative, right?" They did.

The entire thing looked almost fake as if it was a bomb made by a pre-schooler who had seen a bomb in a movie and was asked to make a model out of playdough and other odds and ends. "Just leave it, Kid. We need to go."

Suddenly, heavy footsteps sounded behind them. Robin looked up, leaving KF to pull at wires that were randomly stuck into pieces of putty and sockets connecting to nothing. Two police officers with red faces and worried eyes stared at them. When they spotted the 'bomb' their eyes widened. "Look, kids, you've done a great job evacuating everyone, but now we've got to get out of here. We need to get out of the blast zone, right now!" The shorter of the two commanded, reaching down and pulling at Robin's elbow. "Come on, kid. Buildings can be rebuilt, but lives can't."

"Thirty seconds," Wally announced for no particular reason just as a young priest ran from a small room that led backstage.

"What's happening?" he asked, a confused look on his face and quite a few wrinkles in his robe. Had he been sleeping?

Robin shook his head in wonder and gently removed the police officer's hand from his person. "KF," was all Robin had to say.

A blink and the priest had disappeared. Another blink and the taller police officer was gone. The humming crystal was sounding more like a quiet screech by now, making the hairs on Robin's neck and arms stand on end. He looked back at the clock where the numbers were disappearing faster than seconds generally ticked by.

10 seconds.

Robin looked back at the police officer, who stood rooted to the spot, frozen with a look of horror on his face. Robin grabbed his arm, trying to pull him away, but he stood like a tree planted.

Where was KF? Robin thought, terrified. Even though he already knew that there was no way he was getting out of the church alive, KF still had to get the other police officed to safety. Still, he could try.

With perhaps three seconds left, Robin ran for the door.

* * *

When the priest ran out of his nap room, Wally realised something. He realised that there was no way that he could get them all out of the blast zone. Thirty seconds might sound like a lot of time and normally, for him, it was. But he was running on fumes, his body expending way too much energy on trying to heal his lungs and throat from the smoke he had breathed in. If everyone had started running as soon as he announced the time left, they might have been able to walk away merely injured.

But the human brain didn't work that way. It took time to process things. It took time to release the necessary hormones and to translate that into action. So, Wally did what he did best. He stalled. He improvised. He ran.

The second officer was safely outside when he stumbled, his knees weak. He breathed, strengthened his resolve and started back in… but, realisation dawned. It was so obvious! Wally wanted to bonk himself on the head but refrained. He needed those brain cells. Or maybe not anymore, because he knew what he had to do next and that was all that mattered.

* * *

Robin ran for the massive wooden doors, the light outside - a beacon - when he felt that familiar rush of air. He stopped in his tracks and turned around just in time to watch as Kid Flash reached down and pick up the crystal that now glowed a luminescent turquoise.

"Wally!" Robin screamed, reaching back. But the time was up.

Light exploded, searing straight through his brain. There wasn't even time for a last thought.

* * *

Wally reached the bomb with seconds left to spare. Well, so much for his plan. He wanted to run the bomb away from the church, but even he wasn't going to get very far in two seconds. Certainly not in his current state. Still, he'd try.

Summoning every ounce of strength and energy left within him, he allowed the electricity of the speed force to crackle through him like never before. He willed time to slow down.

He was light, he was electricity, he was pure ener-

"Wally!"

His name made him pause and he looked up to see Robin's panic-stricken face.

No!

He couldn't let his friend die!

Curling around the bomb as best he could, he tried to slow the vibration of the crystal down with a counter frequency.

But it didn't help.

Without warning, everything shattered apart.


	3. Chapter 3

**Not to sound pathetic, but… review? Please? I just want to know if someone is actually reading. But thanks to the three people who have followed so far - this is for you, TrimusicaDrag00n90, amakir393, and readingisapriority.**

**Also, this will be happening about season 4 or 5 of Merlin, but I am taking the plot and twisting it to fit my imagination.**

**Thank you!**

* * *

"Well, I think we're in Europe," Robin announced, after nearly an hour of trying to reach the League. "But I still can't figure out why I can't contact anyone. Or why I don't have any internet."

Wally sat next to his friend, his long legs stretched ahead of him and his goggles resting around his neck. As best as he could tell, it was about eleven in the morning, with the sun having risen steadily during the time that they've been stranded. Wally had scouted the area in about a forty-kilometre radius and had found nothing of interest.

Well, besides the obvious signs of humans through well-trampled paths and a few old, abandoned campfires. He could have pushed himself and followed those paths, but since he was low on energy and frankly, exhausted, he decided to stay close to Robin. There was also the issue of his suit being worse for wear, which did not lend itself to any public appearances in which he wanted to maintain a semblance of dignity.

Wally looked up from his shaking hands and to his left. The policeman who had been in the church with them when the crystal had… exploded, sat in the dirt in a state of shock. So far, the only response he and Robin had gotten from him, was when he reluctantly took a few sips from their bladder of sterilised water.

"Any theories?" Wally asked, hesitant to voice his own.

Robin looked at him, an unreadable expression on his face. "Transported magically to Britain?" he reluctantly volunteered a relatively tame idea. "Most of the flora and fauna, I have spotted so far are definitely native to the UK."

Wally sighed. The best way to start solving a problem was identification. "Parallel universe or time travel, that's what I've got."

The Boy Wonder nodded as Wally echoed his own suspicions. "Reasons?" he still asked. He and Wally made a good team precisely because their minds work in such similar ways, although the viewed the world through radically different lenses and with radically different life experiences.

"The air is too clean, and I haven't seen anyone yet, even if we managed to land in a very rural part of the UK." He paused as his stomach chose that moment to complain loudly. Wally winced at the stinging pain in his abdomen. He needed food, and fast.

Robin stared at the speedster, worry for his health more pertinent than the worry that the three of them might be stranded on another world or in another time. "I think we should get some food and then scout together. We don't want to lose one another when there are so many unknown variables hanging over our heads."

"Food is good," Wally said, the muscles in his jaw relaxing slightly. "I saw a few rabbit and deer… meat's still meat, right? Even if we're in a different universe?"

Robin didn't look too sure, but he nodded. Due to Batman's extensive education regime, he knew of quite a few planets in the galaxy where the creatures were certainly not edible. But if this was just a parallel world, then meat was far less risky than trying some of the local flora. "I'll get a fire going, if you get some small animals or fish even," Robin told Wally, who didn't have to be told twice.

Whilst gathering supplies for a small cooking fire, Robin allowed his brain to mull over their current predicament. No obvious answers or solutions jumped out, and he was still wholly perplexed by the problem at hand another two hours later as he sat with a small quail on a stick. It wasn't a particularly tasty meal since seasoning was out of the question and plucking the small birds had not been part of any of their training.

The police officer managed to skin the hare that Wally had brought along, but that still didn't mean that it tasted phenomenal. In fact, the most successful part of their meal was the couple of eggs that Wally had cooking on a flat river stone he brought along.

Knowing that his friend needed it more than him, Robin only had one egg and his quail, leaving Wally with everything else that he had been able to scrounge up. He estimated the time at around two in the afternoon, when Kid Flash finally declared himself momentarily satiated.

"Thank goodness," the policeman said, his voice steeped with awe. He had been watching Wally eat with wide eyes and a growing look of horror.

Dick chuckled to himself, knowing the morbid fascination his friend's eating habits inspired. At least it had elicited some kind of response from their travelling companion, and for that he was grateful. "Okay, so," he started, as he watched Wally pile loose dirt onto the smouldering coals. "The only plan of action I've got is to find civilisation. I think it's the only way to confirm or debunk both of our hypotheses." His companions nodded in agreement.

"We need to stick together. Kid, you need to save your strength, in case we run into trouble, so no running ahead." Wally shot him a thumbs up and a reassuring smile. "And, sir?" He looked at the policeman, who had yet to say anything more after commenting on Wally's eating. "I'm really sorry for getting you into this situation, but if you stick with us, we'll try our best to get us all home."

The policeman shrugged and looked doubtful, but when Robin and KF got up to go, he followed suit. "Name's Hardy, by the way," he said.

"Cool," Wally offered the man, Hardy, a reassuring smile, before continuing laying out their plain. "So, most of the footpaths are concentrated eastward, which leads away from the mountain range. The small stream I found also runs in that general directions, so that's our best bet in my opinion." He drew a crude-looking map in the dirt at their feet with a general lay of the land.

When nobody protested, Wally dusted off his holey suit and started off. "Well, then, let's get walking. I would like to not sleep in the woods, thank you very much," Wally announced with forced cheer.

There was no way that they were going to reach anything before dark. He'd already scouted that way, and there was nothing reachable by human-paced foot in the amount of time they had left before sunset. _Maybe we'll find a horse!_ He thought to himself but kept that hope quiet since it was a stretch, even for him.

Moving through the woods was slow going indeed since even the well-worn pathways meandering through the underbrush were littered with roots and mulch. Furthermore, Hardy was huffing and puffing from the downhill hike after only an hour. Granted, he wasn't wearing the right gear and no longer looked to be an 'active' cop if the tube around his middle was any indication, but Wally still shot a glare his way whenever he thought nobody was looking.

Robin checked his wrist computer every few minutes, even though he had already accepted the fact that, wherever they were, there weren't any manmade satellites in the sky. The time-travel theory sounded the most plausible at that moment.

"Do you think the rest of the team is looking for us?" Wally asked suddenly, gingerly stepping over a large tree root that protruded from the ground. "I mean, if this one was like the other two explosions, then won't they assume we've been disintegrated?" Wally had seen the aftermath of the other two bombs up close, and there had been nothing left but ash close to the centre of the blasts.

Robin, who had been pondering on the exact same thing, shook his head and waved a flying insect out of his face. "I don't think the explosions were the same. The third one was so obviously a trap and looked nothing like a bomb. I think… the two initial explosions were to lure us to town and the third one, with the crystal, was meant to do something else. Perhaps to transport us here." He gestured in a wide sweep to the surrounding forest.

Wally snorted. "You're not suggesting _magic_, are you?"

Rolling his eyes at Kid Flash's predictability, Robin shrugged. "You said it first, dude."

Silence reigned once more, interrupted by the sounds of footsteps, sighs, pants and the periodic call from some bird or other unknown animal.

"Can we stop for a minute?" The policeman, Hardy, asked and did just that, resting his hands on his knees. His face was red and blotchy, with sweat dripping down his neck. He had long since abandoned all sense of decorum and wore his uniform unbuttoned.

Wally gave a Dick a look that spoke volumes but paused, leaning against a tree in resignation. Dick nodded and bit his lip, nervous about the evening to come. Already the sun hung far too low for his liking.

Hardy quickly collapsed onto the ground, not caring that the mulch was slightly wet. Wally handed him the water and gulped it down greedily.

"Thanks, kid." He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before giving it back to the speedster. "I'm really sorry for holding you guys back," he said, genuine regret in his eyes. He chuckled. "My wife has been telling me to move a bit more. Didn't think-"

He cut off abruptly and Dick, who had momentarily closed his eyes for a brief respite, let out a startled yelp when a split second later he was tackled to the ground. Dick's eyes flew open, immediately falling on Hardy who still sat, leaning against the tree.

However, his eyes were wide with shock and his mouth was gaping, gasping open and close like a comical impression of a goldfish. Except, the image was quickly ruined as bubbles of blood started sputtering from his mouth. Dick's stomach turned at the sight of the fletched arrow sticking from Hardy's throat and he only had a second more for processing it all, before Wally hauled him up and shoved him behind a tree.

Loud, excited yells sounded through the woods before a group of wild-looking men appeared from the shadows. More arrows thunked into the tree behind which the two teenagers were hiding and the attacking men shouted at each other in a guttural language unknown to either hero. Robin took a moment to steady himself before scampering up the tree.

Wally pulled his goggles over his eyes and rushed the two men, who were already searching through Hardy's clothing for loot. He knocked them off their feet, anger burning in his gut, before facing the dozen or so men who had them surrounded.

They were all varying states of dirty, with long hair, and wearing shaggy clothes under a range of mismatched breastplates made from leather to chainmail. They carried swords and bows, and the sudden realisation that, maybe time-travel was the correct assumption, made Wally's breath hitch.

It gave the rest of the group of barbarians enough time to turn towards him, and although they seemed somewhat unsure of his appearance, the bright yellow of his costume did not make them wary enough to cease their attack. They rushed him with swords and daggers, which he ducked and dodged.

From above, Robin threw his two bolas, dropping three men. He jumped down on the shoulders of another, rendering the brute unconscious with a prick from the strong sedative he kept in his belt. Launching himself from the slowly collapsing man, he delivered the same dosage to two more men, whilst Wally darted around, rendering the rest of the group unconscious with well-placed blows to the back of their heads.

"So glad BC made me practice that move over the summer," Wally gushed, high on the sudden onslaught of adrenaline and panic pumping thick through his veins.

A scream rent the air, "-elp!"

Momentarily distracted, Wally turned to face the direction of the voice just as another bandit ran from behind a tree, his sword raised high. Ducking as best Wally could, the man, driven by his own momentum, overshot his target and tumbled down, into a tree.

Now, this, normally, would have been funny to Kid Flash, but he had no chance to gloat as an arrow suddenly seemed to appear in his chest. He hadn't even seen it coming.

Robin felt his breath catch when he saw the arrow protruding from Wally's shoulder, but before he could do anything, Wally had broken off the arrow's tail and was gone, heading in the direction of the earlier shout for help. Swearing under his breath at everything and nothing, Robin ran after his friend, praying to anyone who would listen to keep his speedy friend from any more harm.

The sound of steel against steel and loud grunts led Wally to a clearing of sorts where two men clashed with more of the bedraggled looking barbarians. These two men were decked out in uniforms of sorts, with gleaming armour, and red and gold pieces of cloth adorning the saddles of horses nearby.

Making a decision based on the experience of the past five minutes, Wally rushed forward, dancing through the soldiers and tripping up the bedraggled looking fighters who had contributed to Hardy's death. They fell and tumbled as Wally looked on in satisfaction, right before they were run through by one of the men in red.

His face twisting into a look of horror, Wally did not stop the bandits who started running for the cover of the nearby trees. He faced the two soldiers who watched him with apprehension, swords pointing towards him.

When neither party moved, the one man, with shorter brown hair and soft-looking eyes, headed over to a bundle of rags lying behind a rock. To Wally's surprise, a boyish-looking man rose with the rags, gangly limbs splaying everywhere as he came to a stand.

"Why?" Wally demanded. "Why did you kill them?" Anger heated his voice and made his eyes hard, green glinting with condemnation.

A rustle behind him alerted him to Robin's presence, and he quickly backed up to join his friend's side, clutching at his shoulder which was now bleeding profusely.

The three strangers frowned at the two boys in strange clothing and their frowns deepened at the strange language spoken by the boy with fiery hair who had moved unseeingly, faster than the wind.

Robin touched Wally's elbow, eyeing the new men with curiosity and suspicion. "Wally… I think… We've travelled back in time." He let the statement sink in, knowing that Wally was ruled by logic and that his brain was already processing the onslaught of emotions assaulting him with the addition of the new information.

Wally couldn't remain upset at these men for doing what they had been taught, for acting in the way that was appropriate for this time.

"I think we're in the fifth or sixth century," Robin added, having taken a good look at the weaponry and armour worn by several of the individuals that had attacked them.

"Well, communicating is going to be a bitch." Wally sighed in resignation, swallowing the bile that soured his stomach at the sight of the dead men. Deaths that, strictly speaking, he'd had a part in.

The two soldiers still had their swords out, but their body language was slightly less intense, whilst the third man who wore a blue shirt and a red triangular piece of cloth around his neck, watched them with open curiosity and wonder.

Robin stepped forward, removed his mask which probably made him appear even more alien to the men, and showed his palms. "Pax?" he tried. It was the only Latin he knew, even though the language he had heard so far sounded vaguely Germanic, he hoped that his Latin would work.

Catching on, Wally added a string of translations. "Peace, _pais_, _vrede_, _Frieden_?"

"_Frithu_?" The man with the long brown hair and scruffy beard asked, frowning deeper. After a beat more, he sheathed his sword and motioned for the other man to do the same.

Hesitantly, he motioned to the bodies strewn across the forest floor and said something that vaguely resembled 'danke', 'thank you' in German.

Wally tried a smile, but it was a sad one.

The man with the shorter hair turned around to the man, who Robin assumed to be a servant of sorts and whispered something. If Robin had not been watching as closely as he had, the slight golden flair of the man's eyes would have gone unnoticed. Pulling KF along with him, he took a step back, his left hand already clenched around one of his birdarangs.

The short-haired fellow with the Bambi-eyes held out a hand in the universal sign to stop and smiled gently as if to startled children, which Robin guessed, they were. "Do not fear us, children. I am Sir Lancelot, and this is Sir Gwaine." He, Lancelot, gestured to the other soldier. "We are knights of Camelot. We mean you no harm."

It took a second for that to sink in. Robin's mind was blown, because one, they could suddenly understand the Proto-Germanic language spoken around 500 to 600 AD. Two, they were near _the _Camelot and, three….

"Shit," Wally hissed in awe, his teeth clenched so tight that his jaw popped. He gestured to the lanky boy with a slightly dorky look on his face. "Rob, I think that's _Merlin_," he muttered before collapsing against his friend.


End file.
